This is Your Brain on Faux Foods

The act of eating can be one of deception. Take the concept of edible dirt, for example. French chef Michel Bras served it in the late 1970s at his eponymous restaurant (the “dirt” was actually a mixture of black olives, brioche, and tomato powder). “Your eyes tell you it’s dirt, but your brain tells you that you’re in a fancy restaurant, so this must be some tasty faux dirt (which your tongue subsequently confirms). This act is less about taste than about the pleasure we derive from being deceived,” argues Noah Charney on Lucky Peach.